Heresy were a

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band from

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, formed in 1985 and active until late 1989. They released three albums and recorded three sessions for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

show.

History

The band was formed by Reevsy (guitar, vocals), Kalvin "Kalv" Piper (bass), and Steve Charlesworth (drums), the first two having previously been in the

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

band Plasmid. Their first release was the 1986 6-track

flexi-disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntabl ...

''Never Healed'' - the first release on

Earache Records Earache Records is a British independent record label, music publisher and management company founded by Digby Pearson in 1985, based in Nottingham, England, with offices in London and New York. The label helped to pioneer extreme metal by rel ...

, which was followed by a split LP with

Concrete Sox Concrete Sox are a British crust punk band. They are largely seen as an early crossover thrash band who incorporated many thrash metal-like riffs in the style of their earlier recordings. History Formed in 1984 following jam sessions with Gabb ...

. They then added a singer, who was soon replaced by Concrete Sox drummer John March. Reevsy left the band to be replaced by Mitch Dickinson from

Unseen Terror Unseen Terror was a British extreme metal band formed by Mitch Dickinson (Heresy) and Shane Embury (later of Napalm Death), and played extreme metal with a technical edge along with elements of hardcore punk.Liner notes of Earache Records' ...

on guitar. The band toured through Europe with this line-up. In 1988, Mitch left the band, to be replaced by Baz from Ripcord, the new line-up recording the ''Face Up to It'' LP. The band's final album, 1989's ''13 Rocking Anthems'', was compiled from their last two Peel Sessions. The band split up in late 1988. Members Steve and Kalv formed Meatfly, and now play in UK hardcore band Geriatric Unit.

Musical style

Heresy's early material merged influences from English

groups like Discharge and American

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

bands like

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

and

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

. A fusion which led to them being categorised as

crust punk Crust punk (also known as crust or stenchcore) is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on politic ...

. By the time their founding vocalist Malcolm Reeves was replaced by Kalvin Piper, they had stripped away the metal influence, for a

thrashcore Thrashcore (also known as fastcore) is a fast-tempo subgenre of hardcore punk that emerged in the early 1980s. Thrashcore is essentially sped-up hardcore, often using blast beats. Songs can be very brief, and thrashcore is in many ways a less d ...

sound influenced by

Boston hardcore Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier pun ...

, early-

Dirty Rotten Imbeciles Dirty Rotten Imbeciles (often abbreviated and referred to as D.R.I.) is an American crossover thrash band that formed in Houston, Texas in 1982. The band is currently composed of two of its founding members, vocalist Kurt Brecht and guitarist S ...

and

Siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

. An article for

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

described how "no band before them, harnessed the hormonal force of American hardcore and spiked it with metal-tipped UK82 punk".Marcus, Andrew (2008)
Heresy
", ''

'', "Heresy, like no band before them, harnessed the hormonal force of American hardcore and spiked it with metal-tipped UK82 punk" Simon Czerwinskyj, in an article for

Bandcamp Daily Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

, described the band as "proto-

grind A blade's grind is its cross-sectional shape in a plane normal to the edge. Grind differs from blade profile, which is the blade's cross-sectional shape in the plane containing the blade's edge and the centre contour of the blade's back (me ...

crust maniacs".

Discography

Singles/EPs

*''Never Healed'' flexi EP (1986)

Earache Ear pain, also known as earache or otalgia, is pain in the ear. Primary ear pain is pain that originates from the ear. Secondary ear pain is a type of referred pain, meaning that the source of the pain differs from the location where the pain i ...

*''Thanks!'' 7" (1987) *''Whose Generation?'' 7" (1989) In Your Face *''Live at Leeds'' 7" (1990) Open

Albums

*Heresy/Concrete Sox split LP (1987) Earache *''Face Up To It'' LP (1988) In Your Face (UK Indie No. 13)Lazell, Barry (1997) "Indie Hits 1980-1989", Cherry Red Books, *''13 Rocking Anthems'' LP (1989) In Your Face *''Never Slit Thanks'' CD (1990) Earache/Toys Factory (compilation) *''Voice Your Opinion'' (1992) Lost & Found *''Visions Of Fear'' (1992) Lost & Found *``Voice Of Fear``(199?) Lost & Found *''1985-87'' (2006) Boss Tuneage *''20 Reasons To End It All'' (2007) Boss Tuneage

DVD

*''1987 Excerpts From 4 Live Shows'' (2006) Boss Tuneage

References

External links

Heresy band page at Earache Records siteHeresy
on Myspace
Heresy at discogs.com
{{Authority control English grindcore musical groups Musical groups established in 1985 Musical groups disestablished in 1988 Earache Records artists British crust and d-beat groups 1985 establishments in England